In our industrial society, devices often contain substances that may leak or spill undesirably onto other devices, persons, or the environment. For example, batteries may be stored on battery racks, cabinets, relay racks, a combination of one or more of these structures, or any other suitable structure. These batteries may serve as a backup power supply for data communication centers, telecommunication equipment, utility substations, broadband equipment, cable equipment, and/or computers. These batteries may contain acidic or alkaline substances that may leak or spill onto other batteries, cables, equipment, and other devices as well as personnel, thereby posing a hazard to people and property. Sulfuric acid, commonly found in batteries, is an extremely hazardous material regulated by federal, state and local governments. With respect to the storage of batteries, Article 64 of the Uniform Fire Code requires a four-inch high containment barrier with an acid neutralization capability to a pH of 7-9. Additionally, state and city requirements are often more stringent than National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”) guidelines. In many cases, Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries, as well as other batteries and devices other than batteries, are required by city or county ordinances to have spill containment devices or other control devices. Additionally, in many cases, insurance carriers require spill containment or control devices to be used when storing batteries or other devices that contain hazardous materials. Other devices that may use spill containment systems include, but are not limited to, air conditioning units that may drip water from condensation or leak Freon, and water heaters that may leak water.
Accordingly, it is desirable to contain leaks and spills from hazardous devices such as batteries. While spill containment systems exist, the existing systems need to be improved and are cost prohibitive in many cases. Conventional spill containment systems are attached to the floor by a larger number of fasteners that penetrate concrete, wood, or tile flooring. Accordingly, installing conventional spill containment systems is very costly, labor intensive, and involves defacing or damaging the floor or substrate. Additionally, many floors in older facilities have asbestos tile and therefore drilling into the floor poses a health hazard due to the release asbestos fibers into the air. Additionally, storage space for battery backup systems is limited and precious. As companies become increasingly dependent on computers, their need for storing a greater number of batteries increases. Real estate, battery cabinets, and relay rack space are at a premium. Thus, companies utilizing battery backup systems would like to be able to store as many batteries as they can in their space, such as a warehouse or basement or other rooms. Some of the rooms may have structures that obstruct the floor space (such as columns); others may have non-rectangular areas. Battery spill containment systems should be able to be installed in virtually any of these diverse rooms. The systems should also be able to be installed quickly and easily in a given space at a low cost, and with minimal effort and time. Additionally, rails of the spill containment systems should provide a reinforced and secure environment around the perimeter of the batteries, but yet have the ability to be removed to allow for maintenance or battery change out as the batteries reach the end of their lives.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have improved designs of a battery spill containment system that permits a greater number of batteries to be stored in a given space (e.g., on relay racks or in cabinets) with easy access to the batteries, increased safety, and modularity of designs that incorporate spill containment.